On drinking black coffee
Melody | Saturday, 23 February, 2008 at 12:16 PM Having written a lot about change in the first part of the year, I've been trying to go about my life differently than before. Shaking things up, getting out of some ruts...these new not-so-routine choices have brought some excitement to my year. All-in-all I'm quite pleased.
Therefore it shouldn't have come as too much of a surprise to me the morning, earlier last week, I was about to make coffee in my office and I decided today was the day to start drinking it black. The decision came, quite literally, as if from out of the blue. As many of my favorite decisions do. You too? While I haven't even remotely craved the taste of black coffee - am, in fact, well-known to like quite a lot of cream in my coffee - I've long wanted to be able to enjoy my coffee without adding anything. I remember once when I was around 24, sitting in a late night diner with a guy I went out with a handful of times. Our coffee arrived, he started drinking his, I commented on a wish that I could do such, and he said, "Well do! Just drink it. Why wait?" Which always stayed with me - the idea that you could make a decision in a moment's notice and not look back. I did, too, but that decision wasn't lasting. Seeing as how it was, I suppose, more his decision than my own.
Fast forward 25 15!years and here we are. It can be a bit of a hassle to make sure you've always got the handy Coffee Accouterments on hand. Drinking half-and-half sure can't be good for the size of my jeans I'd like to change for the better, either. I'm sure I could list other reasons, too, but that's plenty. Plus? I like the idea of becoming more like the kind of person I most admire. And although I can't really explain why to you, I've always admired the propensity to drink coffee black.
There you have it. I think we're on day 5 or something, and I can't tell you that I love it, yet, but I don't mind as much as you might have imagined. What I'm looking for? The day I take a sip of black coffee and think, "Aah. Now that is a perfect cup of joe." I'll keep you posted...
Melody
For anyone interested in how this "little experiment" turned out, jump on over here.
Cheers!
Reader Comments (16)
Got it. Great explanation! I will add that I think it depends on the coffee. I prefer weak black coffee myself, and am known to add low-fat milk ALWAYS at Starbucks. I find their regular coffee so bitter I can barely stomach it.
Now I'll switch you to decaf and your transformation to the dark side will be complete...
Decaf coffee black? What would be the point? Also, I agree, Starbucks is waaay too bitter. You should try Seattles Best Coffee (shameless plug) if you like your coffee a little more smooth.
Do you realize that you just told us you are 49 years old? are you really?
Dad
Yea, I'll prolly stop with the black coffee - although it would be handy to be able to drink decaf without getting a headache, on occasion.
Dad, you always knew math was not my forte! :)
Interesting thing happened to me the other day. I was sitting in Big-daddy's office (McDonald's) having a cup of coffee with him and he told me that I needed to stop adding cream and sugar to my coffee, like now. The next day, he was ordering coffee for both of us, and he had the nerve to tell the cashier to cut my sugar back by one(I normally have 2 sugars and 2 creams). I should have bought my own coffee!!! Has anyone ever tried McDonald's coffee without cream and sugar?
Everett
Melody: My previous comment about your age was not nice; I know you are not 49 years old, you are much younger!
Everett: Think of it this way: There are about 20 calories in a teaspoon of sugar. If you reduce your intake by one teaspoon a day, that's 7300 calories in a year. 7300 calories = more than two pounds. Multiply that by the number of cups of coffee you drink a day. Wow!
BTW, McDonalds has pretty good coffee. I am surprised to hear the comments about Starbucks. Everyone raves about how good it is. Could it be like the Kings Clothing?
Dad
In this case, yes! I love McDonalds coffee--decaf and straight black!
McDonald's Coffee pretty good??? More bold! More robust! I think that means "too strong", down here, hee hee!
Ev
Okay, I have to jump in here... if you're really looking for a great coffee - a smoooooooth coffee - you want to try the Southern Lights blend. Not only is it one of my favorite restaurants (I couldn't find an actual website, but here's a celebratory article,) but the coffee they serve there, which I buy at Tobacco USA, although I couldn't find it tonight on their website, (and which I'm confident you could call 'em up and order if you liked,) is really quite a slice of perfection. In case anybody was wondering...
I like McDonald's coffee, but usually with a little half and half cream. It's neither too "bold" nor too weak, in my estimation--unless it's been in the pot too long, then it's not good at all.
Dad
My turn again. McDonald's Coffee really ain't that good. Notice the southern vernacular for emphasis. I'd rather be drinking Big-Daddy's coffee. His is TEN times better. Going to Ronald's house just gets him out of the house. I'd like to try some of that Smooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooth coffee sometime, however. Is it really that good???
Ev
;) I've found Granddaddy likes his coffee pretty weak for my taste, but I recognize it's all personal. And I might change my mind, come to think of it, now that i'm not cutting it with milk.
Meanwhile, yea, it really is that good! ;)
O.K.Java Junkies for the record I love Dunkin Donuts coffee. Too bad the one we had is gone! Now, when I pick the best location to have a cup of coffee or for that matter business/pleasure meeting hot spots the Green Bean downtown gets five stars. I have met some amazing folks from this connection and several have turned into great business connections. As a small business owner myself I say let's support our local business owners.
Melody, keep up the good work. I think you're swell and a good role model for us "hyper chicks."
Cheers,
Lisa
Oh YES to the Green Bean! What a great place, and Pete is the best, too. Yay for the small business owners, as well!
Thanks for the role model assertion! Comments like that make a woman want to try harder, maybe pay more attention. :)
Thanks, too, for commenting! Happy Thursday...
Are we still talking coffee? Thank you for your support of small business owners! In all of the above comments, I had plainly forgotten to comment on the fact that our small business (WEB Marketing Connections) sells several good selections. The Regular brand name is called NINE to FIVE. And the gourmet coffees are Kahve Arabica selections. Have you heard of these? DRINK MORE COFFEE!!!
Ev
Hey little brother. Actually it seems we're always, always talking coffee, to some degree. I haven't heard of those you mentioned, but maybe I'll try 'em out some day. For this moment, I'm about to go pour myself another cup of who knows what's here, and try not to wish it had cream in it. 'Cause although it's getting a little easier? Still, even still...I Don't Prefer It This Way.
That's why they're called "challenges" though, eh?